Starkville, West Point runoff elections held today

Dispatch Staff Report

May 19, 2009

Voters in Starkville and West Point are heading to the polls today to decide run-offs for mayor and council seats.

In Starkville, voters are choosing a Democratic candidate for mayor, between current council member Matt Cox and attorney Parker Wiseman. The winner will face Republican Marnita Henderson in the June 2 general election.

In West Point, several selectmen seats are up for grabs, including a challenge to longtime Ward 1 selectman Linda Hannah, who has served for the past 16 years. Hannah is facing first-time candidate Rod Bobo, a sales representative for Mitchell Automotive, who received 42 percent of the vote compare to Hannah''s 35 percent in the primary.

Runoff elections are called when no candidate receives 50-percent-plus-one of the vote in the general primary. The two candidates who receive the highest percentage of the vote face one another in the runoff.